"How late in the year is it still acceptable to say Happy New Year?" We will say it anyway - Happy New Year! We hope that 2015 has been kind to you so far.

As you know, 2015 is the year of our Marillion Weekends. Three nights of Marillion concerts in 3 different countries and over 7 hours of music for us to rehearse.

Holland is sold out but there are tickets left for Montreal and a few for the UK. For details of support acts, some hints on what we will be playing and all booking information, please go to www.marillionweekend.com - If you haven't been before then you don't know what you're missing!

Rehearsals have started in earnest. In the mornings we come into the studio and jam and then proceed to try and remember songs that we might not have played for years (or ever!). It's a slow process but it's going well.

After the conventions we will spend the rest of the year writing and recording the new album which is due for release in early 2016. We are only escaping the studio for the Ramblin Man Festival in July and Cruise To The Edge in November (www.marillion.com/tour) - apart from that, it's the padded cell!... All the more reason to enjoy the live work.

We have a feeling this year's shows are going to be fabulous. Come and see if we're right..